Loom



E. c. ALIX ETAL 5 239,45?

LOOM

Filed Dec. 2, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR .eLme/a, c Aux HAEIEY n. w LSON ATT%NEY April 30, 1946. c I r 2,399,45?

LOOM

Filed Dec. 2, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 41. V in? IN! 'ENTOR.

ELMEI? C.-ALIX BY HAIERY A. WILSON E. C. ALlX ET AL LOOM April 30, 1946.

Filed Dec. 2, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR. ELMEE C- AUX I l7 .ILO/U BY HfEYHWS ATTOEN EY Patented Apr. 30, 1946 LOOM Elmer C. Alix, Charlton City,

Wilson,

and Harry A.

South Spencer, Mass.

Application December 2, 1943, Serial No. 512,546

9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in filling feeders and relates particularly to novel means and method of selecting successively the filling which is to be woven into the cloth.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide an attachment for the bobbin magazine of an automatic loom whereby the bobbins may be successively selected from the respective cells of the magazine for suitable distribution of the filling which is to be woven into the cloth and method of making the same.

Another object is to provide an attachment of the above nature which may be quickly and easily attached to the bobbin magazine of a conventional type automatic loom.

Another object is to provide means whereby all of the cells of the magazine are utilized for holding the bobbins thereby avoiding the necessity of constantly refilling the cells, such as would be the case if Only two were used,-thereby giving the operator more free time for watching defects during the actual weaving of the cloth.

Another object is to provide means for selecting successively the filling bobbins from the cells of the bobbin magazine of an automatic type loom which will facilitate more, positive operation of the loom, reduce wear of the parts and enable looms having worn parts and less positively operating mechanisms to function more positively.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawngs and it will be apparent that many changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement of parts and steps of the method shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in the accompanying claims. We, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction, arrangement of parts and steps of the method shown and described as the preferred form only has been given by way of illustration.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. I is a front elevational view of a conventional bobbin magazine showing the attachment embodying the invention in position thereon;

Fig. II is a bottom plan view of the device illustratedin Fig. I; v

Fig. III is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken as on line III--III of Fig. I and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. IV is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken as on line IV-IV of Fig. I and looking in the direction mdicated by the arrows;

simulating the guideways Fig. V is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken as on line V-V of Fig. I and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Figs. VI, VII and VIII are views similar to Fig. V showing the operating attachment of the invention in different positions of use.

Referring more particularly to the drawings wherein like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views the device embodying the invention is attached to a part of a conventional machine which comprises a base bracket 9 having a foot portion Ill secured to the side frame portion of theloom as by bolts or other suitable conventional-means not shown, The base 9 supports a bobbin magazine ll having a plurality of bobbin cells [2 therein. The said cells l2 are in the form of vertical slideways in which is supported the heads I3 of the bobbins having the desired filling 14 thereon.

It is to be understood that the other end of the bobbin is supported in the conventional manner as by a suitable member having guideways I2. The said base 9 is provided with spaced bearings l3 for supporting an indicator shaft M to which a suitable indicator I5 is attached. The indicator I5, therefore, is pivotally supported by the indicator shaft M in the spaced bearings 13. The indicator I5 is interconnected with the bobbin changing mechanism and is adapted to cause said mechanism to be operated in the conventional manner when the said indicator is moved ina downward direction by means which will be described more in detail hereinaften The bas 9 is also provided with spaced bearings l6 and H in which is slidably supported a shaft l8 which carriesthe operating mechanism of the device embodying the invention. Theshaft |8 is longitudinally reciprocated in the spaced bearings l6 and I! by means of a bell crank l9 having an upper end portion engaging within a spoollike member 20 carried by the shaft;l8. The bell crank I9 is connectedwith the conventional shuttle box mechanism and isoperated through the operation of said shuttle box in the conventional manner. This operation is suchas to cause the bell crank l9 to be rocked about a pivotal connection 2!. The shaft I8. is rotated a controlled amount by means of a link. 22 connected with a lever 23! carried by. said shaft. The link member 22 adjacent'its opposed end, is connected with arock lever- 23 operated by a conventional cam mechanism'controlled by th filling feeler Operating mechanism of the loom, not shown. Thus far; all that has been described are the conventional parts of an automatic loom which are commonly known in the art. Further conventional parts are a plurality of slide bars 24 slidably mounted in guide members 25 carried by the base 9. These slide bars are of the conventional type and each is connected adjacent the lower end 26 thereof with the cradle in which the bobbin is discharged from the bobbin magazine for placement in the shuttle into which it is forced by the' conventional hammer mechanism, not shown. Again these are conventional parts of the loom and thus far we have described only the parts with which the device embodying the present invention is associated. It is to be understood that the slide bars 24 are provided with the conventional catches 28 which are adapted to engage the indicator I and cause said indicator to be rocked about its pivotal connection with the shaft M in the spaced bearings I3. This causes the indicator to be lowered and to operate part of the conventional transfer mechanism 29 of the loom. The device embodying the invention comprises a pair of driving members 30 and 3| loosely supported on the shaft l8. The said driving members 30 and 3| are located between spaced indexing members 32 and 33. The spaced indexing members are pivotally supported on suitable hubs formed on the opposed sides of the driving members 30 and 3| respectively or may be directly pivotally supported by the shaft I3, see Fig. III. Each of the indexing members 32 and 33 is provided with a pivoted lever 34 and 35 respectively. The said last named levers are best shown in Figs. V and VI and are pivotally attached to the indexing members 32 and 33 as' illustrated at Each of the driving members 30 and 3| respectively is provided with a rock member 36 pivotally connected at 31 between spaced protrusions 38 formed on said drive members. One of each of the spaced protrusions 38 of the respective drive members 30 and 3| is provided with a sidewise directed finger member 39. The said finger members are so formed as to be directed toward eachother as shown in Fig. I and are adapted to be independently engaged by a suitable dog-like member 40 carried by the shaft -|8 and adapted to rotate therewith. The levers 34 and 35 are each provided witha camming section 4| adapted to engage the rock members 36 which are pivotallyattached between-the spaced protrusions 38. This is best shown in Figs. I through V. The said pivoted levers 34 and 35 are each provided with a notched end 42 adapted to be engaged by a latch member 43 pivotally attached at 44 to the'respective indexing members 32 and 33. -A spring 45 having one end attached to the lever 34,'as illustrated at 46 and its opposed end attached to the indexing member, as

.shown at 41, is adapted to normally urge the cam'section 4| in the'direction of the adjacent end of the rock member 36. The said'latch member 43 is provided with a protruding portion 48 adapted, in one position of adjustment, to engage a suitable stationary stop member 49 carried' by the base 9.

The respective indexing members '32 and 33, on the side thereof opposed to the spaced protrusions 38, are each provided with a protrusion 50 havgan arcuate contour fitting "between spaced fingers 5| carried by the respective slide bars 24, see Figs. Vand VI particularly. e v The latch members 43 are each provided with a spring 52 normally urging'them in the direction of the stop means 49, see particularly Figs. III, V and VI.

Each of the indexing members 32 and 33 on the sides thereof opposed to the protrusions 50 are provided with a recess 53 in which the rock members 36 are adapted to be moved at different positions of adjustment. When the rock member 36 is positioned within the recess 53 in the indexing member 32, as shown in Fig. V, and the shaft I8 is rotated an amount sufiicient to=cause the dog 40 to engage the sidewise directed member 39 the said member 39 will be rotated about the longitudinal axis of the shaft I8 as a center thereby causing the rock member 36 which is positioned within the recess 53 to, in turn, cause the indexing member 32 to be rotated. This movement will, in turn, cause the protrusion 5|] having the arcuate contour to move the slide bar 24 in an upward or downward direction depending upon the direction of movement of the indexing member 32.

It is to be understood that the members 32 and 33 are each provided with similar levers 4|, latch members 43 and recesses 53, each of which 0perate in a similar manner. The members 32 and 33 associated with each of the drive members 30 and 3| are similarly constructed and operate in a similar manner. The mechanism associated with the drive member 30 is for successively and alternately selecting bobbin from the aligned associated pair of guideways I2 and the mechanism associated with the drive member 3| is for suc cessively and alternately selecting bobbins from the other pair of associated guideways I2. Both mechanisms operate in a similar manner.

The operation of the device is substantially as follows:

A plurality of bobbins having the desired filling thereon are placed within the respective cells l2 of the bobbin magazine l: The respective shuttles are caused to traverse the lay of the loom to position the filling carried thereby between the threads of the warp. This causing of the shuttles to traverse the lay of the loom is continued until the filling is spent from the bobbins in the shuttles. As the filling becomes spent from one of the particular bobbins in the shuttles and the conventional feeler device engages the bobbin this sets the conventional feeler mechanism not shown, into motion, this motion will cause the rock lever 23 to be tilted about its pivot support and will, in turn, cause the link member 22 to be lowered. The link 22 which is pivotally connected with the rock lever 23 will cause the 'said rock lever 23 to rotate the shaft I8 a given amount. For ease of description let us assume that the operating parts of the device embodying the invention are located in a position, such as shown in right hand part of the device in Fig. I. It is to be noted that the rock member 36 carried by the drive member 36 is engaged within the recess 53 of the indexing member 32, see Figs'I and V. This rotating movement of the shaft I8 will cause the dog 40 to engage the sidewise protruding member 39 and cause the drive member 33 and rock member 36 to be rotated in a downward-direction. The fact that the said rock member 36 is now engaged in the recess 53 of the indexing member 32 the said rock member will cause said indexing member 32 to be simultaneously rotated. Rotation of the said indexing member 32 will, in turn, cause the protrusion 50 having an arcuate contour in engagement with the spaced fingers 5| to move the respective slide bar 24 in an upward direction. The end 26 of said slide bar, which has previously been described as being attached to the bobbin cradle, during said upward movement will cause the .cradle to be rotated an amount suificient to I select a bobbin from the respectively aligned cells l2 and cause said bobbin to fall into said cradle. Simultaneous with the rotation of the drive member 30, as previously described above, the end of the rock member 35 opposed to the end which is engaged in the recess 53 of the indexing member 32 will, as shown best in Figs. VII and VIII, cause the cam section 4| of the lever 35, carried by the indexing member 33, to be depressed therebyraising the notched end 42 to a position simulating the position of the notched end 42 in Fig. V. This locates the notched end 42 in a position to receive the latched member 43, which function will take place as the sidewise protruding member 39 is rocked in an upward direction as is best shown in Fig. VIII. When in this position the latch member 43, carried by the indexing member 33, will be engaged with the notched end 42 of the respective lever 34. This, therefore, holds the lever 34 against tiltin action under the tension of the spring 45 and simultaneously holds the cam section 4| inwardly an amount sufficient to clear the recess 53 in said indexing member 33 so as to enable said recess to receive the respective end of the rock member 35. This will take place when the dog 40 is moved in an upward direction and the pull of the spring 45 on the lever 34 carried by the indexing member 32 will cause said camming portion 4| of said lever to exert a pressure on the rock member 36 so that when it is moved into alignment with the recess 53 in the indexing member 33 the said rock member 36 will be forced into said recess. It is to be understood that the latch member 43 carried by the indexing member 32, is disengaged from the notched end 42 of the lever 34 carried by said indexing member 32 through engagement of the protruding portion 48 thereof with the stop member 49, as best shown in Fig. V. This takes place when said member 32 is moved to the position indicated in Fig. V, which movement is that initially described for moving the slide bar 24 upwardly. When in this position, the spring 45 is free to urge the cam section 4| outwardly against the end of the rock member 36 which is now engaged in the recess 53 of the indexing member 32. Continued operation of the machine will cause the shaft l8, through the link 22 and rock lever 23, to be moved in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. V. This movement. will cause the respective slide bar 24 to be moved in a downward direction causing a conventional catch member 28 carried by the bar 24, which is now in open position due to previous upward movement of the slide bar 24, to engage the indicator member l and cause said indicator member to be rocked in a downward direction about its pivotal connections with the spaced bearings |3. This is a conventional function. This operates the conventional transferring mechanism 29 of the loom. Simultaneous with the downward rocking of the indicator |5 the said end 26 of the slide bar 24, through its connection with the conventional cradle, not shown, will cause the said cradle to tilt and permit the bobbin previously placed into the cradle to move through the action of gravity into the giveways of the magazine. This is a conventional function of automatic type looms. Simultaneous with this action the transfer mechanism 29 will operate a conventional hammer device which will drive the. filled bobbin into, position in the shuttle, and will simultaneously eject th previous y spent, bobbin from the shuttle. The loom then continues its operation until the filling of the newly inserted bobbin has been Spent.

Due to the fact that the latch member 43 carried by the first indexing member 32 is now clear of the notched end 42 of the lever 34 carried by said indexing member, the said cam section 4| under the tension of the spring 45 will be urged against the rock member 36 and will cause said rock member 36 t ride the contour edge of the indexing member 33 and become seated in the recess 53 of said indexing member when moved into alignment therewith. This interconnects the drive member 30 with the indexing member 33. When the filling of the newly inserted bobbin has been spent and the feeler device of the loom is allowed to engage the spent bobbin causing the feeler mechanism to again be operated the rock lever 23' and the link member 22 will again be moved'in a downward direction causing the lever 23 attached to the shaft Hi to rotate said shaft in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. V. This will cause the drive member 39 to again be rotated and due to the fact that the rock member 36 now is engaged in the recess 53 of the indexing member 33 will cause said indexing member to be rotated and, in turn, cause the respective slide bar 24 .to be raised repeating the previously described operation of selecting a filled bobbin from the cell l2 adjacent the first described cell.

It is to be understood, of course, that when the rock member 36 is positioned within the recess 53 of the indexing member 33 the opposed end thereof will depress the lever 34 carried by the indexing member 32 in a manner similar to the depression action of the lever 34 carried by the indexing member 33 and will cause the notched end 42 of the lever 34 carried by the indexing member 32 to be engaged with the respective latch member 43 carried by said indexing member. This function is similar to the function previously described in connection with the indexing member 33.

The above described operation is that which takes place for one of the operating shuttles. It is to be understood that the same function takes place in connection with the other of said shu tles. The mechanism for selecting the filled bobbins for said other shuttle is brought into play by a rocking movement imparted to the bell crank |9 which causes. the shaft l8 and dog 49 carried thereby to be moved in a sidewise direction an amount sufficient to cause said dog to engage the member 39 carried by the drive member 3|. The bell crank I9 is operated through the upward and downward movement of the shuttle boxes through a suitable link or conventional chain connection of said bell crank with said shuttle boxes.

Assuming that the shuttle boxes are in lowered position when the drive member 30 is operated to select a filled bobbin from each of the respective cells l2 described above the shuttle box will then be raised through the usual cycle of operation of the machine. This raising will cause the bell crank to be lowered and the shaft l8 to be moved in a sidewise direction causing the dog 49 to be moved into operating position with the drive member 3| to select filled bobbins from the respectively aligned cells l2, whereupon the shuttle boxes will be again lowered causing the bell crank to be raised and to shift the dog 49 into alignment with the first described drive member 39. Continued operation of the loom, therefore, will cause bobbins to be. selected successively from each of the cells i2.

A more direct description of the function of the device is as follows: 1

When the upper shuttle box is active the shaft |8 will be in its forward position with finger. in position to cooperate with member 39 of drive member 30. When the lower shuttle box is active shaft l8 will be in its rear position with finger 40 in position to cooperate with member'39 of driving member 3|. When the loom is started each lever 36 must be manually positioned in the notch 53 of one of the members 32 or 33. Assuming that each lever 36 is engaged in notch 53 of member 32 (as shown in Figure V), lever 34 will be held by latch 43 inoperative so that arm 4| cannot exert any push on lever 36. At this time it is obvious that lever 35 on member 33 is in unlatched position, that is, at the beginning of the downward motion of member 30. When weft replenishment is indicated shaft l8 will first be rocked counterclockwise thereby, through the medium of finger 40 and member 39, rocking drivin member 30 or 3| depending upon which shuttle is to be replenished. Corresponding member 32 will also be rocked, raising associated slide 24, and lever 34 will become unlatched when arm 48 strikes stop 49. Simultaneous to this action this rotary movement of the lever 36 in a downward direction will cause the said lever to engage the lever 4| carried by the disc 33 and exert a pressure thereon of an amount sufficient to cause its end 42 to latch with the notch 43 thereby holding the arm 4| carried by the disc 33 in inoperative position. Now spring 45 acts on arm 4| of lever 34 to urge the corresponding end of lever 36 outwardly but such outward movement is prevented by engagement of the other end of lever 36 with the arcuate surface of member 33. When the member 32 is rocked counterclockwise (Fig. V) to release the bobbin from the cradle by the downward movement of the corresponding slide 24, the lever 36 will remain in notch 53 of member 32 due to the engagement of the opposite end of lever 36 with the arcuate surface of member 33 until slide 24 reaches its lowermost normal position at which time notches 53 in members 32 and 33 are alined in the same horizontal plane and lever 36 willsnap into notch 53 of lever 33 under the urge of lever 34. Thereupon shaft |8 will return to its initial position without however moving member 30 due to the lost motion between driving member 39 and the driving faces of dog 40. The next replenishment of the same shuttle will be from the stack of bobbins associated with member 33 in the manner previously described with reference to the operation of member 32 with lever 35 becoming unlatched and lever 34 becoming latched on the counterclockwise rocking of shaft l8 (Figure V). Thus the replenishment of said onesh'uttle will occur alternately from the two stacks of bobbins common to said shuttle. In the same manner the replenishment of said other shuttle will occur alternately from the other two stacks of bobbins.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. An attachment for controlling the selection of bobbins from the cells of the bobbin magazine of an automatic shifting shuttle box loom, comprising a shaft rotatably and slideably supported on said bobbin magazine, a dog-like member on said shaft, said rotatable movement being initiated by the conventional feeler mechanism of the loom and said sliding movement being imparted by conventional mechanism operated through the shifting movement of the shuttle boxes of the loom, a drive member loosely-supported on said shaft and having a portion adapted to be engaged by said dog-like member when the shaft is rotated, a rock member pivotally connected to said drive member, a pair of indexing members, one on each side of said drive member, each of said indexing members having a peripheral recess therein adapted to receive said rock member and each having a portion operably interconnected with the conventional bobbin selecting and cradle operating mechanism of the loom, and means carried by said respective indexing members for causing said rock lever to be engaged in the respective recesses in said indexing members, whereby rotary movement of the drive member, through engagement thereof with the dog-like member, will cause said indexing members to be successively operated and thereby cause the bobbins to be selected from different cells of the bobbin magazine.

2. An attachment for controlling the selection of bobbins from the cells of the bobbin magazine of an automatic shifting shuttle box loom com-f prising a shaft which is rotatably and slideably supported on said bobbin magazine, an engagement member mounted on said shaft, said rotatable movement being initiated by the conventional feeler mechanism of the loom and said sliding movement being imparted by conventional mechanism operated through the shifting movement of the shuttle boxes, a drive member loosely supported on said shaft and having a portion adapted to be engaged by the engagement member when said shaft is rotated, a pair of indexing members, one on each side of said drive member, said indexing members each having a portion interconnected with the conventional bobbin selecting and cradle operating mechanism of the loom and means for operably interconnecting said in dexing members with said drive member.

3. A device of the character described in combination with the bobbin magazine of an automatic shifting shuttle box loom comprising a shaft which is rotatably supported on said bobbin magazine, an operable member mounted on said shaft, a drive member slideably supported on said shaft and having a portion adapted to be engaged by the operable member when said shaft" isrotated, a pair of indexing members, one on each side of said drive member, said indexing members each having a portion interconnected with the conventional cradle operating mechanism of the loom and means for operably interconnecting said indexing members with said drive member.

4. A device of the character described in combination with the bobbin magazine of an automatic shifting shuttle box loom comprising a shaft which is rotatably supported on said bobbin magazine, an operable member mounted on said shaft, a drive member slideably supported on said shaft and having a portion adapted to be engaged by the operable member when said shaft is rotated, a pair of indexing members, one on each side of said drive member, said indexing members each having a portion interconnected with the conventional cradle operating mechanism of the loom and a, lever means pivotally carried by said drive member for rotatably interconnecting said drive member with said indexing members.

5. A device of the character described in combination with the bobbin magazine of an automatic shifting shuttle box loom comprising a shaft which is rotatably and slideably supported on said bobbin magazine, an engagement member mounted on said shaft, a pair of drive members in spaced relation with each other and loosely supported on said shaft, each of said drive members having a portion adapted to be selectively engaged by the engagement member through the slideably and rotatable movement of the shaft, a plurality of indexing members, one on each side of each of said drive members each having a portion interconnected with the conventional cradle operating mechanism of the loom and means for operably interconnecting said indexing members with said drive members.

6. A device of the character described in combination with the bobbin magazine of an automatic shifting shuttle box loom comprising a shaft which is rotatably and slideably supported on said bobbin magazine, an engagement member mounted on said shaft, a pair of drive members in spaced relation with each other and loosely supported on said shaft, each of said drive members having a portion adapted to be selectively,

engaged by the engagement member through the slideably and rotatable movement of the shaft, a plurality of indexing members, one on each side of each of said drive members each having a portion interconnected with the conventional cradle operating mechanism of the loom and lever means pivotally carried by said drive members for rotatably interconnecting said drive members with said indexing members.

7. An attachment for controlling the selection of bobbins from the cells of the bobbin magazine of an automatic shifting shuttle box loom comprising a shaft which is rotatably supported on said bobbin magazine, an engagement member mounted on said shaft, a drive member loosely supported on said shaft and having a portion adapted to be engaged by the engagement member, a pair of indexing members associated with said drive member, said indexing members each having a portion interconnected with a conventional cradle operating mechanism of the loom and means for operably interconnecting said indexing members with said drive member.

8. An attachment for controlling the selection of bobbins from the cells of the bobbin magazine of an automatic shifting shuttle box loom comprising a shaft which is rotatably supported on said bobbin magazine, an engagement member mounted on said shaft, a drive member loosely supported on said shaft and having a portion adapted to be engaged by the engagement member, a pair of indexing members associated with said drive member, said indexing members each having a portion interconnected with a conventional cradle operating mechanism of the loom and lever means pivotally carried by said drive member for rotatably interconnecting said drive member with said indexing members.

9. A device of the character described for use in combination with the bobbin magazine and being operable by the indicating mechanism of said magazine, of an automatic shifting shuttle box loom comprising a supporting member carried by said bobbin magazine, an operable member rotatably mounted on said supporting member, a pair of indexing members, one on each side of said operable member, said indexing members each having a portion interconnected with the conventional cradle operating mechanism of the loom, means for operably interconnecting said indexing members with said operable member and means operably connecting said operable member with said indicating mechanism of said magazine.

ELMER C. ALIX. HARRY A. WILSON. 

